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Dr. Chris Pernell is Interviewed about Hantavirus Quarantine; Transportation Secretary Promotes Road Trips; Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) is Interviewed about Abortion Pill Delay; AOC For President. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired May 11, 2026 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:32:42]
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: All right, good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. Thank you for joining me on CNN THIS MORNING.
It is half past the hour. And here's what's happening right now.
We are awaiting reaction from Iran after President Trump rejected its counter proposal to the U.S. peace plan. Trump called it totally unacceptable. Tehran's state-run media reports that Iran's proposal sought recognition of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
And six people have been found dead inside a box car in Texas. They were found in a rail yard in Laredo during a routine inspection. The Union Pacific operates across the border and is the only railroad that services into Mexico. The Department of Homeland Security says it is investigating.
And later this morning, the accused -- the accused White House Correspondent's Dinner shooter is expected to be arraigned on federal charges. They include attempted assassination of the president, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon.
Now, this breaking news. The 17 Americans who came off of that cruise ship, they're now at a quarantine center in Nebraska. One has tested positive for hantavirus. Another has shown mild symptoms for this disease. So, we're going to talk about what's next after this dream vacation turned into a nightmare.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JAY BHATTACHARYA, ACTING HEAD, CDC: We're going to interview them and assess them for risk. Risk meaning -- in this case risk doesn't mean the risk of dying from the disease or anything. The risk is a high-risk if they've been in close contact with somebody who was symptomatic. If they weren't in close contact with someone who was symptomatic, then we're going to deem them low risk. If they're -- if they were in close contact, we're going to deem them, you know, medium or high risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Joining me now, Doctor Chris Pernell, public health physician and director of the NAACP's Center for Health Equity.
Good morning.
First, I want to talk about this place they are going. It's not a random hospital in Nebraska. Where are they headed and what's going to happen there?
DR. CHRIS PERNELL, PUBLIC HEALTH PHYSICIAN: Good morning, Audie.
So, they're headed to the only federally funded National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. So, this means -- this is a normal part of the public health infrastructure that is equipped, that is ready to assess persons who have been exposed to infectious or those -- I should say, viruses or bacteria who have the potential to spread and to become an outbreak and or pandemic.
[06:35:16]
CORNISH: Talk to me about those risk levels, because what makes this a news story is the human to human transmission, which is supposed to be unusual except with this Andes strain. So, tell me what they're going to be looking for.
PERNELL: Definitely. First and foremost, I want to reassure the public, hantavirus is not Covid. Hantavirus does not spread easily or does not spread efficiently. What we saw in Covid was a type of a viral infection that was aerosolized or airborne, and spread from human to human regardless if the person who was infected with the Covid was displaying any symptoms. That's not the case with hantavirus.
OK, so, first and foremost, let's start there. What the doctors are going to be looking for is these persons who were on a cruise ship that was hit by hantavirus, are they displaying flu-like symptoms? Do they have fatigue? Do they have muscle aches? Do they have fever? Or do they have gastrointestinal symptoms, like diarrhea or nausea?
In rare cases, hantavirus that does spread from human to human by that Andes strain, can go on to develop a hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. So, is the person beginning to develop a cough? If that cough progresses and it becomes very severe, you can have an infection that turns deadly in about 30 to 40 percent of the cases.
CORNISH: I want to play for you the director general of the World Health Organization, who was trying to kind of assuage people's fears, especially in the U.S., around the issues you talked about, people who fear another pandemic. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: I hope the American people will have faith in their experts also, who are already working, working on this.
That should also give them the confidence that this is being managed very well. So, that's what I would like to say. And WHO is also here supporting to make the American people safe, and the rest of the world also safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: I hear him saying something that I think is in line with what I saw on social media, people who are afraid of another pandemic and what might come with it.
What's your message to those people who feel that way, in part because they don't trust public health officials or their trust was shaken during the Covid pandemic?
PERNELL: Yes. Where I start is that the American public, we were scarred by Covid. It was a once in a lifetime, once in a century pandemic. And now, on top of that, we have failed leadership at the very top of the federal public health infrastructure. There is a lack of stability. There has been mismanagement of other issues around measles. We have the lowest vaccine confidence that we've seen in recent history. And there hasn't been clear and consistent communication. That's what's stoking the fear.
What we in public health who are on the front lines, whether in local or state positions, we need to speak up and we need to speak clearly and just discuss the facts with people. And unfortunately, I'm not very comfort -- comfortable -- confident, I should say, in the most senior federal public health officials. But I am confident in those professionals, like who's manning and working at the National Quarantine Unit, like in our local and our state public health departments.
CORNISH: That's Dr. Chris Pernell. We're talking to her about those -- the folks who were on that cruise ship that was struck with hantavirus. They're landing now in Nebraska.
Dr. Pernell, thanks so much.
PERNELL: Thank you.
CORNISH: I also want to turn to oil prices this morning. They're on the rise after the president rejected Iran's latest response to a U.S. peace plan.
So, gas prices are still, on average, $4.52 per gallon nationwide. And Americans are struggling to afford this new reality. In the meantime, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is starring in a new reality show, encouraging people to hit the road.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: We're encouraging everyone to go take a road trip to celebrate America's 250th birthday. We said, we're going to do a road trip. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The great American road trip will inspire
families to step away from the noise, hit the open road and reconnect with what matters most, each other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Group chat is back.
As someone who grew up watching MTV's "Real World," Road Rules: All Stars."
ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Boston, right?
[06:40:00]
CORNISH: All the things.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Yes.
CORNISH: This feels inevitable.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Right.
CORNISH: That two real -- two stars from reality television are making some reality television only in the service of the government.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Yes.
CORNISH: Bad timing? Good timing? Consider the gas prices.
EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: I think it's also about just the timing. The time involved, right? To shoot a reality TV show takes a lot of time. And that means that the secretary of transportation was spending a lot of time not doing secretary of transportation things, but doing a road trip with his kids.
CORNISH: Right. When it was a super busy time.
DOVERE: Yes.
CORNISH: You know what I mean? Like, I -- and I bring this up because he also -- do you remember when he went through the phase of telling people they need to be dressed up at the airport?
KANNO-YOUNGS: Yes.
CORNISH: And it's like, we would if we weren't standing here for 100 hours.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Right.
CORNISH: You know what I mean? I think there's sometimes not always a reading of the room. And this has come up in the context of their economic messaging as well.
FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "USA TODAY": I mean, what you're laying out is essentially the criticism that he, you know, that he's come under for this. But as far as the reality TV aspect of that, I mean, that plays into the original reason why President Trump liked him and liked so many of these people that he put in his cabinet, right?
KANNO-YOUNGS: The central casting, right?
CHAMBERS: The central casting. He brings it up all the time related to both people in his cabinet, as well as world leaders. And so, whether or not it's because they're on a national news show or on television all the time, or on a reality TV show, this may not be something, I'm just saying, that strikes the president the wrong way, right?
CORNISH: Yes.
KANNO-YOUNGS: It does come, though, as, like, Americans are increasingly frustrated over gas prices.
CORNISH: Here, I'll show you the chart. In case you are not frustrated with your gas prices --
KANNO-YOUNGS: Right. And --
CORNISH: This is -- this is science. But when you see the line, I think you'll get the vibe. Very high. Not great for road tripping.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Not great for road tripping. Like you square the visual of the transportation secretary traveling the country, doing a road trip, while Americans increasingly see that price of gas going up. And those two things are --
CORNISH: Yes. Here's Pete Buttigieg, I'm going to put this post up while you're talking, making the argument that you would expect, I think, from Democrats, saying, this is basically out of touch.
DOVERE: Yes. Look, I think that a lot of Americans, forget about even the gas prices part of it, would love to have the time with their jobs, the luxury of spending that much time on vacation with their kids. And it's great that the secretary of transportation spends time with his family. But again, there is this question of the work that there is to be done and how different the life that he is leading is from most Americans.
CORNISH: Yes. He says that he works on the road, but I do want to play for you one thing, which is the energy secretary, Chris Wright, on Sunday, because I'm looking for real solutions here. So, here's a policy idea that they put forth, or at least floated on Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTEN WELKER, HOST, "MEET THE PRESS": Would you support suspending the federal gas tax to give families relief right now?
CHRIS WRIGHT, ENERGY SECRETARY: Yes. Look, all measures that can be taken to lower the price of -- at the pump and lower the prices for Americans, this administration is in support of. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: She asked it. Are they actually, thinking it?
CHAMBERS: I mean, look, they've said that they're considering all kinds of options at this point in order to try and keep costs low for Americans, especially as they start to look towards the --
CORNISH: But this is pretty specific. I mean is this --
CHAMBERS: Towards the, you know, towards the midterm -- towards the midterm elections.
I mean, look, this is the number one issue, though, that the Trump administration is facing as they head into November is that these prices are persistently high, even if they've come down a little bit.
CORNISH: But what I'm trying to figure out is, do they plan to solve that with vibes and messaging, or are they actually starting to be, like, OK, what can we do? What's the (INAUDIBLE)?
KANNO-YOUNGS: I think for them, this is a part of the vibes and messaging in a way.
CORNISH: OK.
KANNO-YOUNGS: You're dangling out a proposal, even if you don't actually do it. That shows that, OK, we're on this. The administration's focus on this.
However, you also pair that, by the way, with the inconsistent messaging of the president saying, this will be short term, right? This is -- this is short term economic pain. At the same time, I also think a really interesting comment that Wright made a couple of weeks ago was that actually these high gas prices could persist through the end of the year, contradicting the president as well.
DOVERE: And what they're not dangling is where they would make the cuts from the money that the gas tax is raising. It brings money into the federal government. Where are you going to cut so that we're not going more into debt for that?
CORNISH: Yes.
All right, you guys, stay with us.
And, by the way, if you missed any of the conversation, you want to talk about gas prices, we are a podcast. Jump in the comments. Scan the QR code right now on your screen to find us. CNN THIS MORNING is available anywhere you get your podcasts.
Now, I want to talk about this next. A major shakeup could be coming to the FDA as pressure builds over the abortion pill. Could this fire up voters ahead of the midterms?
Plus, is Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez leaving the door open for a presidential run?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): My ambition is way bigger than that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[06:48:58]
CORNISH: So, is the writing on the wall for the boss of the FDA?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Are you planning to fire Marty Makary?
REPORTER: What's going on with Marty Makary?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Nothing much.
REPORTER: Is he staying on?
REPORTER: Are you going to fire him?
TRUMP: I've been reading about it, but I know nothing about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK, so a denial there from President Trump. But a senior administration official is telling CNN that he has signed off on a plan to oust Dr. Marty Makary. And this decision comes after a series of drug application denials. This is how Makary talked about those with CNBC last week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MARTY MAKARY, FDA COMMISSIONER: I work for the American people. And I stand by the scientists at the FDA. Three independent teams arrived at the same conclusions. On my watch we have not done corrupt sweetheart deals. What we have done is followed the science. So, every accept or reject decision at the FDA on my watch has been the accept or reject recommendation of the primary review teams at the agency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[06:50:00]
CORNISH: Trump is also facing intense pressure from anti-abortion activists to push Makary out the door for not moving fast enough on the abortion pill. So, could that be an opening for Democrats in the midterms?
I want to bring in Democratic Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen from Colorado. So, first I want to talk about the issue of the abortion pill,
especially after this back and forth with the high court. Does this feel like an inflection moment?
REP. BRITTANY PETTERSEN (D-CO): I think that this will bring it again to the forefront of them continuing to try to control our bodies, our ability to make our own decisions. You know, I'm heartbroken to think about women across this country not having access to something that I -- that 63 percent of people who have abortions, whether that's for -- they choose not to move forward with their pregnancy or if they have a miscarriage and its critical, it's necessary medication --
CORNISH: Yes.
PETTERSEN: That they are now going to be limited in their ability to have access.
CORNISH: Congresswoman, one thing about talking about that issue is I think Democrats did find that there were limits. That, of course, there was a midterm. We're talking about abortion rights. It was salient in some races. And then later on it wasn't so much. So, how do you talk about it now?
PETTERSEN: Well, I think front and center is, people want to know how they're going to pay their bills. I mean, I think that there are so many layers of impacts for people across the United States. So, this is still an issue that is critical. And especially in Colorado, we're very pro-choice and so are people across this nation. So, reminding them, you know, what party is actually fighting for their ability to make their own decisions, making sure that they have access to healthcare.
But that goes beyond abortion. That goes to, you know, all of the hospitals that are shuttering across the country, especially in rural areas. And the Medicaid cuts that are right around the corner, and how much worse it's going to get. We're going to remind people why life is so much harder under this administration and the ways in which they have prioritized millionaires and billionaires over working families. So, I think it's absolutely part of the conversation but it's not going to be the only thing that we're talking about.
CORNISH: You were one of 250 Democrats to sign on to an amicus brief before the Supreme Court to overturn this ruling on the abortion pill. Do you have high hopes from this high court when it comes to abortion rights?
PETTERSEN: I think, you know, this decision is going to come out today whether or not this is going to continue to be paused, whether or not women across the country are not going to be able to have access to this medication through telemedicine. I want to -- I mean this is really important when you think about people in rural communities, people in health care deserts, having access and being able to have medication, the abortion pill mailed to them is essential because in people working multiple jobs that have a difficult time being able to get in for that doctors appointment. So, this is about reducing access to reproductive health care, forcing a -- making sure that they are not letting us make our own decisions about our bodies, our future. So, this is just one more way in which they're trying to control our lives.
CORNISH: OK. Congresswoman Pettersen, thank you so much for your time
PETTERSEN: Thank you.
CORNISH: I want to turn to another congresswoman, this time Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is fueling speculation about a potential run for higher office. And she was asked about running for Chuck Schumer's Senate seat or the White House in a future election. And when she was asked, here's how she replied over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): They assume that my ambition is a title or a seat. And my ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Group chat is back.
Let's talk about ambition. I think last week we were talking a lot about J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio. And I think, over on the Democratic side, the avatar for ambition is Gavin Newsom.
But what is it about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that says she's running, so to speak?
DOVERE: Look, eight years ago right now Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was still working as a bartender. Her rise has been meteoric is like not even a strong enough word to describe it. And what she is so good at over the course of her political career is tapping into this feeling that people have that not only is she sort of still a normal person like them, but cares about the things that they care about. And that's what came across in that answer.
[06:55:00]
Look, if she runs for president, she would be a formidable candidate. She's got name recognition and popularity that most candidates who are -- most of the people who are looking at being candidates for president would give almost everything for.
CORNISH: Yes. But before you get there, you have to deal with where you are.
DOVERE: Yes. Yes.
CORNISH: And she is still a congresswoman now.
Now, when she was asked about it back in November, about Chuck Schumer and the Senate primaries, here's what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): We have a cycle coming up with many primaries, not Senator Schumer's, but many Senate primaries that -- where voters are going to be deciding between candidates. And my hope is that, in places like New Hampshire, in places like Illinois and in other places, that we send fighting Democrats to the United States Senate.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Speaking of primaries, are you considering primarying him?
OCASIO-CORTEZ: He's not up for --
RAJU: Well, he's up in 2028.
OCASIO-CORTEZ: But he's not up for election this cycle. So, I'll see ya.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Talk about --
KANNO-YOUNGS: Yes, it was a quick, I'll see ya.
CORNISH: See you later. Catch you later for that one.
But the question keeps coming up about Schumer, especially as some of his candidates have not exactly performed the way that they would like.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Sure.
CORNISH: And people like Platner, I think in Maine, are on the rise without his help or support.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Right. Right, right, right. There's growing frustration with, not just Chuck Schumer, but I do think whether members of Congress represent overall their constituents, and that --
CORNISH: I was about to say, and even the DCCC is struggling with sort of who they're backing versus who has traction.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Yes. Yes. And that applies to this.
CHAMBERS: And I do think the midterms will be crystallizing for a lot -- there's -- not just Democrats, but Republicans who are thinking about running, about the types of candidates, not just who wins in the House, Republicans or Democrats, but the types of candidates who win in these House races and --
CORNISH: Yes. And if that's meaningful in the age of redistricting wars?
KANNO-YOUNGS: Sure.
CORNISH: I mean, we're looking at districts -- CHAMBERS: But it'll tell you if she -- if she has the juice, where moderates have the juice, who has the momentum of the Democratic Party behind them?
CORNISH: But how will we know they have the juice if the redistricting makes it more extreme on either end.
DOVERE: Right.
CORNISH: I just don't know who has juice under a scenario where there's this level of manipulation.
DOVERE: And that's -- and part of the answer to that question is going to be the people who decide to run and see what happens when they decide to run.
CHAMBERS: Right.
DOVERE: But for Schumer, the question, he is only elected by the people of New York state. And speaking as a born and bred New Yorker and former New York political reporter here, part of the issue that Schumer is facing is, he would be running for his sixth term in 2028. New York has changed a lot.
CORNISH: Yes.
DOVERE: Zohran Mamdani is the mayor of New York City now. Won in a big election last year. He is very different from anybody who was anywhere close to being mayor of New York City when Schumer was first elected to the Senate, which was in 1998.
CORNISH: Right.
DOVERE: Let alone when he started running for office in New York, which is 1974 is the first time he won in a race in New York.
And also, Schumer is -- would be, if he runs for another term, going into his late 70s. That's a question for New York to be facing. And it's different from the larger national political conversation, but it is intertwined with that.
CHAMBERS: But that does matter for her, though.
DOVERE: Sure.
CHAMBERS: Because, can she make a bigger difference in the United States Senate than as a House member? She's -- obviously, her voice has already been quite prominent in the House of Representatives. And if she wants to change the conversation, I mean, look at Bernie Sanders.
CORNISH: Yes.
CHAMBERS: He ran for president. He never won. But at the same time, he changed the Democratic Party and the values of it.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Yes.
CORNISH: Yes. And I don't think it's an accident that they were side- by-side basically all summer at these events.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Nationwide tour. The rally (ph) against the billionaires.
CORNISH: Yes, nationwide tour.
All right, you guys, I want to talk about what's in your group chat on a Monday.
DOVERE: For very different change of pace, there is a show that Zach Galifianakis has on Netflix that's called "This is a Garden Show," which --
CORNISH: It's about gardening.
DOVERE: It is -- it is about gardening. It is about tomatoes and apples and of kids. And it is so charming and just a complete relief from everything else that is in our headlines right now.
CORNISH: And is earnest in a way that two ferns clearly would not have been. Was that Zach Galifianakis?
DOVERE: Yes, it was. I think that there is a common thread there.
CORNISH: Oh.
DOVERE: But in a -- in a much less acerbic way.
CORNISH: Yes. Fair. Fair.
What about you?
KANNO-YOUNGS: Tanking. Tanking in the NBA. The NBA draft lottery was this past weekend.
CORNISH: Ah-hah.
KANNO-YOUNGS: There's a local story here.
CORNISH: Tell me. Tell me.
KANNO-YOUNGS: The Washington Wizards got the number one overall pick. But there's a lot of anger about this process because all the top three teams that basically tanked, lost, didn't play their bench players, all got rewarded with top picks, right? And now the NBA is considering reforms, like potentially, can you get the number one pick back to back years.
CORNISH: Oh, my gosh. Is the NBA OK? I mean after the poker scandal and this. I'm just like, is the NBA doing well? Like, are they --
KANNO-YOUNGS: I mean, you know, I'm watching the playoffs right now and I'm having fun with it. CORNISH: That's fair.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Yes, it's providing a great escape for me.
CORNISH: That's fair. But if I hear -- usually I don't hear the word "reform" so much.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Yes.
CORNISH: But lately I hear it a lot.
KANNO-YOUNGS: I think Adam Silver is in a tough position right now. Yes.
CORNISH: OK. Adam, if you're out there, please come on the show. OK. I want to talk. I have questions.
[07:00:00]
KANNO-YOUNGS: He's got a stressful job.
CORNISH: I've grown up a fan. My dad's an obsessed Celtics fan. And we want to hear from you.
OK, you guys, thank you so much for waking up with us.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Thank you.
CORNISH: For kicking off this Monday. We've got a lot of news for you ahead today, including that flight from the cruise that was hit by hantavirus. Those people have landed in Nebraska. They're going to be at a federal hospital where they're going to be checked out. We're going to have the headlines for you on that next. I'm Audie Cornish.
